National Library Week

Today is the second day of National Library Week, which is celebrated in the United States in the second full week of April. Sponsored by the American Library Association, the week calls attention to one of the most important and least appreciated elements of American culture - the public library.

This year, National Library Week focuses on the transformation of the library from a place for the storage and circulation of books to a place where people can come together to read, listen to the spoken word, watch movies, go online, and indulge in their creativity. 

Books are expensive, but public libraries are free - they are one of the great tax-subsidized* benefits available to us all. All the knowledge of the ages is at our fingertips, stored, indexed, and curated by professional librarians and volunteers dedicated to the preservation and sharing of knowledge. 

Make time this week to visit your local library, especially with your children or grandchildren. Whether you're looking for the latest thriller or more information about a topic in the news, it's one of the best ways you can spend your time. 

Have a good day. Read more. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* All you people who hate paying taxes need to just put a sock in it for a while.

Poetry Sunday

Since we're now well into the month of April, with Spring springing around us and Summer shimmering with promise on the horizon, I thought a poem about April would be appropriate ...

April Prayer

by Stuart Kestenbaum

Just before the green begins there is the hint of green
a blush of color, and the red buds thicken
the ends of the maple’s branches and everything
is poised before the start of a new world,
which is really the same world
just moving forward from bud
to flower to blossom to fruit
to harvest to sweet sleep, and the roots
await the next signal, every signal
every call a miracle and the switchboard
is lighting up and the operators are
standing by in the pledge drive we’ve
all been listening to: Go make the call.


Enjoy Spring. Get out and do your gardening, work in the yard, go for long walks. Make the call.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, time flows on to a spring of little hope* ...

The Senate GOP pushed the political Red Button on Thursday, exercising the so-called "nuclear option" to force a vote on Neil Gorsuch's appointment to the Supreme Court in the face of Democratic opposition; a woman in California was seriously injured this week when she fell 60 feet from a bridge while taking a selfie; legendary insult comic Don Rickles passed away at the age of 90, you hockey puck; in Stockholm, Sweden, a man hijacked a beer truck and used it to murder at least four people and injure many others when he drove it into a crowd; and Mr Trump hosted a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the "Southern White House**."

Lest I once again be accused of whining, I thought I'd move to a topic as timely as politics, but perhaps less sensitive to accusations of my failure properly to understand how the world works. Drone along with me as we look at cartoons about ... well ... drones ...

Even birds love the high-tech ladies ...

Good idea ...

What happens when nature wises up? ...

And the worst part of it is that the storks will also lose their health insurance ...

When drones go off the reservation ...

Migration or privacy invasion? ...

The next step in the technology of delivering pepper to your table ...

Dogs can take advantage of technology, too ...

How God plays Halo ...

Somebody is always offended about something ...

And there you have it ... Bilbo has droned on for yet another week, ha, ha.

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day here in NoVa. Enjoy your own weekend, and be sure to come back tomorrow for Poetry Sunday. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* Gandalf, from The Fellowship of the Ring.

** Otherwise known as Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump's lavish Florida resort.

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for April, 2017

It's getting both easier and harder to select recipients for my biweekly Ass Clown awards ... on the one hand, there are plenty of candidates to choose from, but on the other hand, their qualifications are so impressive*, that it's hard to single out one recipient at a time.

So I guess this time I'll just have to select two.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, it is with a mixture of awe and regret that I announce the dual winners of

The Right-Cheek Ass Clown for April, 2017

Syrian President Bashar al Assad

and

Russian President Vladimir Putin

On Tuesday of this past week, 52 adults and at least 20 children were murdered by Syrian government forces in a chemical weapon attack on the city of Khan Sheikhoun. The use of such barbaric weapons against his own people - including children - marks the depravity of Mr Assad's rule, and the steadfast support of Russian President Putin for his actions indicates the morality and humanity of the dictator who has won the approval of Mr Trump.

Mr Putin and Mr Assad blame the Syrian opposition for the incident, while Mr Trump blames - who else? - former President Obama.

For their brutal and soulless war which includes the use of horrible chemical weapons against the Syrian people, Bashar al Assad and his Russian protector and facilitator, Vladimir Putin, are jointly named the Right-Cheek Ass Clown for April, 2017.

One hopes the light's being kept on for them at Hell's Motel 6.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow, when Cartoon Saturday returns.

Bilbo

P.S. - By the way, Mr Trump has now attacked Syria. You will recall, of course, that he urged former President Obama not to do so. Blame is easy. Responsibility is hard. I hope this works out, but I have my doubts.

B.

* Sorry about the use of that word in this context, but I couldn't think of a better one.

National Teflon Day

No matter what you love or hate, support or oppose, there's probably a day, a week, or a month that has been dedicated to it. Today is no exception, being National Teflon Day.

National Teflon Day is observed each year on this date to honor the accidental invention of Teflon™ on April 6, 1938, by Dr. Roy Plunkett.

Teflon, officially known as polytetrafluoroethylene (or PTFE), is the generic name for a family of non-stick coatings often applied to cookware to aid in cleanup after food preparation. It is also widely used to reduce friction in various manufacturing processes and in products which benefit from the reduction of friction, such as steam irons, skis, plumbers' thread-sealing tape, and even dental fillings. It has also been applied to some types of ammunition in order to reduce wear on the rifling of firearms but does not, as has sometimes been claimed, improve the armor-piercing capabilities of the ammunition.

The slipperiness of Teflon, which allows it to protect objects by preventing potentially damaging substances to stick to them, has led to the use of the name to describe individuals who somehow consistently manage to avoid blame for their misdeeds. John Gotti, the former head of the Gambino crime family, was known as "The Teflon Don" for his ability to evade prosecution and conviction for his activities. And Mr Trump has clearly been triple-dipped in Teflon, which is the only possible reason he has consistently been able to avoid ostracism for his crude behavior, disproven lies, and exaggerations.

Happy National Teflon Day. We can always use a bit less friction.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Algocracy

Here's an interesting new word (new to me, anyhow) that popped up on WordSpy a while back: Algocracy (n): rule or government by algorithm*.

I hadn't thought about it before, but our lives are governed more and more by the results of algorithms - broadly defined as "step-by-step procedures for solving a problem or accomplishing some end, especially by a computer."

Our federal government has become an algocracy. Both of our political parties use algorithms to parse voter registration data and combine it with the use of sophisticated mapping technology to support the despicable process of gerrymandering, by which a party in power seeks to maximize the borders of Congressional districts to its advantage. That's why the so-called "Freedom Caucus" will be able to strangle government forever ... none of them will ever be voted out of their gerrymandered seats unless it's by someone even more intransigent than they are.

Big business is an algocracy as well. Specialized data mining and interpretation firms hoover up vast quantities of data and use algorithms to package and sell it to those who want to tailor their products or messages to specific audiences ... a much easier practice now that the GOP has empowered ISPs to freely sell your online browsing histories**. Consider the junk mail you receive (both online and via snail mail), the trash robo-calls you get, and the ads that appear on your browser as you surf the Internet - it's all designed and targeted by firms that collect and study information about you and use algorithms to sift it into useful guidelines for the delivery of advertising aimed specifically at you***.

Is this a good thing? I guess it depends.

For purposes of government, and specifically for the partisan manipulation of voting districts, I think it's terrible. For purposes of business, each of us has to make our own decision ... there is some value to having businesses be able to make us aware of products and services in which we might be interested, but that value comes at the cost of a loss of our privacy. I'm sure some people are okay with that, but I'm not.

But like it or not, the algocracy is here to stay. Better keep close tabs on your browser history.

Have a good day, by the numbers.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* You may have thought an algorithm was a song sung by a former vice president, but you'd have been wrong.

** “Any Member of Congress who thinks this bill is a good idea ought to release their personal browsing history to their constituents. It's only fair.” (Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN))

*** For instance, if you belong to AARP, chances are you'll get a lot of ads for Medicare supplemental insurance, prescription drugs, and long-term care insurance ... and funeral services and cemetery plots for when those don't work for you.

What Are We Thinking?

Agnes and I have a lot of friends and relatives living in Europe, and we communicate with them often by phone, e-mail, and the occasional ink-on-paper letter. One of the most common comments we hear from them is some variation on what are you people thinking? Here's an example from one of our friends in Switzerland, who last week wrote,

"Ja, über eure neue Regierung spricht wohl die ganze Welt! Vielleicht wäre es wirklich besser, die ganze Welt würde den Präsidenten und seine nächsten Berater ganz einfach ignorieren, und niemand würde mehr das getwitter von Herrn Trump lesen! Wir fragen uns oft, wielang dies weitergehen kann????"

Translation: "Yes, the whole world is talking about your new government! Perhaps it would be better if the whole world would just ignore the President and his closest advisors, and nobody would read Mr Trump's tweets! We often ask ourselves how much longer this can go on????"

It's a question I often ask myself.

I must admit, with a certain amount of embarrassment, that I cannot bring myself to say, write, or type the words "President" and "Trump" together. I know he was legally and Constitutionally elected, and I know it sounds small and petty, but Mr Trump is a small and petty person who has made not the least effort to act presidential or look like a statesman and who, rather than reaching out to try to heal the nation's divisions, has spread gasoline on the fires with his baseless accusations, insults, and blatant lies and evasions.

Most observers believe Trump won the election because voters were angry. I get that. I'm angry, too. But never was the old adage about cutting off one's nose to spite one's face more appropriate. Why would you hire someone with absolutely no experience in government to fix the problems ... if there's a problem with the airplane you're riding in, would you want someone with no flying experience to land you safely? If your doctor has a heart attack in the middle of your open-heart surgery, would you want someone who'd never been to medical school to take her place?

There are a lot of very interesting articles out there about the psychology of the American voter, and why so many of them are willing to support a pathological liar like Donald Trump. All those theories are fine, but the bottom line remains what are you thinking?

I wish I knew. And so does the rest of the world.

Have as good a day as you can in this environment.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

Secrets? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Secrets!*

We Americans have a conflicted relationship with the loose confederation of government agencies we collectively call "The Intelligence Community." Because suspicion (if not downright hatred) of government is in our national DNA, it's only natural that we focus that suspicion and hatred on those organizations the government creates to collect information ... after all, they might be collecting information about us, right?

But you have to feel a little sorry for the people who run the elements of the Intelligence Community, whose status and public approval rank right up there with, say, the Directors of the IRS or the ATF**. Think about it ... whenever some terrorist attack happens or government somewhere gets overthrown, you get hauled before a Congressional committee or two to get yelled at because you didn't stop it from happening. You can't tell anyone about the successful things you did, because they're all secret. Everybody in the country knows how to do the job better than you do, and everyone works hard to uncover all your secrets, because we Americans know that secret is bad ... anything kept secret is obviously being kept secret because it's protecting something bad. Everyone wants to know who your sources of information are, and when you try to protect them, it's obviously because you're hiding something bad. Of course, if you're Devin Nunes you can blithely and arrogantly refuse to name your sources.

Yes, it's not easy to be part of the Intelligence Community in this country, when you get blamed for everything that goes wrong, and when it seems as if the whole country is working against you. You must sometimes wonder if the intelligence services of other countries don't have it better. After all, when was the last time you saw the Head of the Russian FSB hauled in front of six committees of the Federal Assembly to explain how it is that opponents of Vladimir Putin are dropping like flies, or the Head of the Chinese Ministry for State Security required to testify about economic espionage or the suppression of rights in Tibet?

Well, none of that matters, because we're Americans and the only things that matter are the things that happen here at home. Who cares what the rest of the world does ... makes no difference to us here, right?

But because you care about protecting yourselves from the tyrannical power and overreach of the Big Bad Government™ and its evil minions, you need to know everything that government does, no matter why it's secret. And so, as a public service, here is an up-to-the-minute diagram of the structure of the dreaded CIA, with the latest Trump administration changes to improve its laser focus on people who don't like Trump. Click it to embiggen it for easier reading ...

Don't thank me. It's all part of my relentless efforts to make sure you are warm and comfortable in your happily tailored information bubble.

Move on, folks, nothing to see here.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* With apologies to the original line.

** Oops ... ATF hasn't had a Director since 2015 because the GOP keeps blocking nominees. It's being led by an "Acting Director." Sorry.

Musical Sunday

The Spanish musical duo Baccara, consisting at the time of Mayte Mateus and Maria Mendiola, was very popular in Europe in the mid- to late 1970's. I have a lot of Baccara on my "very best" playlist, and this is one of my favorites ... just ignore the misspellings in the scrolling lyrics ...

They can play me a symphony any time.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow, when we reel and stagger into the new week.

Bilbo

Cartoon Saturday

Today, Donald Trump gave a speech in which he spoke in clear, grammatical, complete sentences and presented sound, coherent arguments in favor of his thoroughly-researched, well-developed, and bilaterally-supported policies. April Fool!

Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka is being appointed to a White House position as an "unpaid adviser" to her father, although she will receive office space, a top-secret security clearance, and government-provided communications devices; in Texas, 13 people were killed and two injured when a pickup truck slammed into a minibus carrying a church group; while House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes has done his best to make his committee's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign a picture of chaos and partisan ineptitude, the Senate has been quietly conducting a professional investigation that may shed light on what actually happened; in a related development, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has offered to testify in the investigation, but only if he receives immunity from prosecution; and in Atlanta, a section of Interstate Highway 85 has been closed indefinitely after it collapsed during a huge fire*, creating a huge traffic bottleneck on a major north-south route through the traffic-choked city.

Welcome to April.

There aren't many things that look sillier than a poor, hapless dog wearing an Elizabethan collar ... talk about adding insult to injury. This week's collection of cartoons looks at dogs suffering the indignity of wearing those ugly and embarrassing collars ...

Dogs are good at putting the best face on things ...

And they can also be pretty sarcastic ...

Reception is even better when their leash is being held by a woman with a head full of curlers ...

More looking on the bright side ...

And even more ...

I'll bet you didn't know just how far back the use of the Elizabethan Collar on pets can be traced ...

Oops ...

Well, someone had to be last in his class at veterinary school ...

Perhaps he's working under contract to NASA ... oh, wait ... not that Pluto ...

Elizabethan Collars as a device for managing social interactions. Who'd have thought it? ...

And there we have it - the first cartoon collection for the new month of April. Don't thank me ... you need something to take your mind off the sad circus that's sitting where our government used to be.

Have a good day, and come back tomorrow for music by Baccara. More thoughts then.

Bilbo

* It's a good thing that we have plenty of money to spend on infrastructure repair and improvement, rather than on silly things like, say, border walls.